


Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur

by Tired_College_Student_Writing



Series: The Many Misconceptions about Malcolm Bright [4]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: American Sign Language, F/M, Gen, Gil Arroyo Acting as Malcolm Bright's Parental Figure, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Team as Family, post-Episode: s1e11 Alone Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22420981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_College_Student_Writing/pseuds/Tired_College_Student_Writing
Summary: Malcolm Bright is never silent.Malcolm Bright is never still.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, JT Tarmel/Tally Tarmel, Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright & Edrisa Tanaka, Malcolm Bright & JT Tarmel
Series: The Many Misconceptions about Malcolm Bright [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1609252
Comments: 8
Kudos: 258





	Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur

Malcolm hadn’t spoken since the Unis had shown up. Barely made a sound since Gil had crashed through the police tape and pulled all three Whitlys into a hug as Malcolm and Ainsley were being checked over by the paramedics. He couldn’t seem to look anyone in the eye since Dani and JT had arrived, smothering Bright in reassuring remarks and hand squeezes, to his good hand of course, as he and Ains were loaded into the ambulances. 

It hurt them all to see as he started to shut off, the normal manic energy of their brilliant idiot flickering out until all that was left was a husk. 

Gil and the Whitleys knew the look in his eyes, had seen it twice before. Once right after his father was arrested, and once during his senior year… when he had tried to take his own life. It had taken months for the look to leave each time, for his tongue to start working again, for him to meet their eyes again.

It hurt, it hurt him to the kid like that, to see him such a husk of his normal self, a hot air balloon that shriveled up until the flame could be light again, but he could deal with it. He knew how to offer comfort, how often to check on Bright so that the kid doesn’t get lonely but doesn’t think Gil is babying him, and what food to bring that would be easiest to force the kid to eat. 

Edrisa, JT, and Dani weren’t used to seeing him like this. They were used to reigning the off the wall Malcolm, pulling him back from the edge of unintentional self-destruction. They were used to the ungodly terror coursing through his body as his own mental unrest caught up to him, calming him enough that his hands would only tremble with their normal restlessness instead of shake. 

They’ve never seen him hollow before. 

But they tried. 

Malcolm’s hospital room quickly became the break room of the team, the hangout between sections of their cases, the place they would bring paperwork to complete. JT always sharing the details with him, snarling him gently as if the profiler was quipping right back at him.

Edrisa was quick to start bringing enough food to feed everyone that may stop by, light easy to stomach meals, some that Gil would bring him himself, others he knew the other wouldn’t eat but the thought meant more to Malcolm then anything else. 

Dani was always offering a hand to hold or gentle fingers running through Bright’s hair, never being offended when he pulled away from her soothing touch, but watching for his hands to shake or his eyes to go glassy for her to touch him again, grounding him without a word. 

It made Gil’s chest swell with pride, as he and his detectives sat in various places around the hospital room keeping the catatonic man company, to see how the kid’s support group had grown in just a few short months. 

“Do you know any sign?” JT asked one day glancing up from his paperwork, hands moving with sharp precision. Malcolm’s eyes flickered with surprise before he raised his hands. Gil felt his breath catch. This was different, only a week into his shut down, and there was an emotion crossing his face, even for a split second, usually, it was almost a month before anything changed in him. 

_A little. why do you know it?_

Dani and JT’s faces broke into massive grins and Gil felt his stomach swoop at the uncertain movements. Questions, he was asking questions, usually, he wouldn’t start asking questions until his voice came back, even when given other means of communication. 

“My daughter is deaf,” JT explained, “Sensorineural Hearing Loss due to the cord being wrapped around her neck during birth if your nerd brain wanted specific, which I know it did.” 

“We’ve been learning sign language since she was diagnosed,” Dani jumped in, hands moving to, “She’s not fond of keeping her hearing aids in for more than a few hours so it makes things easier on her.” 

_Daughter… What is her name?_

“Delilah,” JT supplied with a soft grin, “Delilah Opal Tarmel. We call her Dot for short.” 

“She’s a little spitfire,” Gil found himself saying around the lump in his throat, hands shaking as they started moving too, “got her Daddy wrapped around her little finger already.” 

JT scowled at him, “Like you and Edrisa aren’t as gone for Dot at I am.” 

_Can I… will you tell me about her?_

JT snorted, “Well duh, I don’t need a reason to ramble about my little girl, you can meet her after you get out of here too, she’s been begging to meet her new ‘uncle’ since you crashed Tally and my date night. Was gonna introduce you at the New Year's Eve party I was throwing but she understands you’ve been a little busy. We’ll do it when you’re feeling up to it.” 

Malcolm stiffened, wide eyes flickering up towards JT’s face but stopping short, _Uncle?_

“You’re part of the team,” JT scoffed as if it was ridiculous for Malcolm to even ask, but Gil could see the tenderness in the man’s eyes, “That means as far as Dot is concerned you’re her Uncle Malcolm, just like Dani is Auntie Dani, Edrisa is Auntie Eddie, and Gil is Grandpa Gil. You don’t argue with four-year-olds on family, man.” 

The smile Malcolm gave was barely an upward twitch of the lips but it took all of Gil’s willpower not to break down sobbing.

JT and Dani both dove right into the stories of Dot, telling Malcolm everything they could think about the little girl from her dimpled smile and mischievous hazel eyes to her latest science experiment that made a mess in the kitchen. Even if Malcolm wasn’t looking at them, barely even moving, they knew he was soaking up every fact about the little girl that he had yet to meet like a sponge, making sure that when he did meet the girl that dubbed him Uncle without even seeing him he would be able to treat her like a princess. 

Gil snapped a picture of Malcolm’s shakily signing a question about Dot’s favorite animal, weasels, to send to Jessica and Ainsley. He knew they wouldn’t believe it, wouldn’t believe that so soon after the kid’s shutdown that he was peeking through the cracks already, timidly testing the waters to see if it was safe to exit his self-made cage. They had been prepared to wait months to see this much improvement, but… 

Gil’s phone buzzed before he could send the picture off, and he wanted desperately to throw it at the wall, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Not when he was on the clock. The detectives eyed him with slight reluctance as he answered the phone and relayed the new case to them. 

No matter how much they wanted to stay, they couldn’t, not when two bodies lay dead in a bowling alley not five minutes from the hospital. They slowly said their goodbyes, postponing the inevitable for as long as they could, before they finally had to turn towards the door, promising to be back for lunch with Edrisa in tow. 

Something caught the edge of Gil’s sleeve, barely even a snag, but it made him freeze all the same. 

Malcolm had grabbed him, tugging on the fabric gentle enough that if it had been any other circumstance he would have thought it would be an accident, but no… Malcolm had reached out to stop him, initiated contact like he never had during shutdown before. 

“Everything okay, kid?” He asked as softly as he could, knowing his detectives had turned back to. 

After a second Malcolm’s hand let go of Gil’s sleeve.

_Stay Safe_

Gil’s couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his lips as he squeezed Bright’s shoulder. 

“We will, and we’ll be back to tell you all the gruesome details later alright?” 

_Thank you_

No one voiced aloud how those words didn’t seem to be focused on Gil’s statement at all. 

It wasn’t until they made it to his car that his knees give out. Dani and JT didn’t comment as he slid to the floor with his back pressed against the car door, didn’t comment on the tears teaming in his eyes, or the way his whole body shook worse than Malcolm’s hands. 

They didn’t comment on how his goofy relieved grin never faded in its intensity.

They knew what he was feeling, how the events since Christmas had been affecting him, but even if they did comment it would change anything.

No matter how overwhelmed he was nothing could ruin his mood.

Because his son was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur- One's friends are known in the hour of need.


End file.
